Chance to measure Iosefo's fitness

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The Jefferies Cup South Island tournament will serve as a fitness test for Canterbury Red Sox strike pitcher Penese Iosefo.

The Black Sox hurler has made a quicker-than-expected recovery from broken ribs suffered in a Dunedin car crash and could still suit up for next week's National Fastpitch Championships (NFC) in Auckland.

Canterbury manager Jayden Moore said Iosefo would be included in the Jefferies Cup squad for this weekend's tournament at Mainland Foundation Ballpark.

"We have seen a significant improvement with his health, he has had no headaches for the past 10 days, he is moving freely and has no difficulty breathing, so effectively the Jefferies Cup will be a fitness test for him," he said.

"Should he succumb to the injury, we have included Brendon Batten in our squad as cover."

Batten, Callum Muir and Nathan Watt have been added to Red Sox squad "to allow us to manage the players' workload leading into next week's NFC", Moore said.